Letter

Gosline a man of his time

Peter Gosline called recently to tell Mary and I that he was giving his notice to the Monadnock Community Hospital of his intention to leave his position as CEO and seek other challenges.

We are not surprised and we do not like to see this happen to our hospital, but with Peter’s knowledge and competency it is a logical occurrence.

When Peter accepted the challenge several years ago, I am not sure he knew what he got himself into. But he may well have realized the potential that awaited him.

The hospital had few options — wait until time made this small community hospital no longer a viable entity or bite the bullet of potential and make changes to make a difference. Maybe merge with another hospital or sell out.

I think the financial nest egg the hospital had was significant, but it alone was limited in what it could do. And finally it could put on a huge fundraising plan and restructure its role in the state and make it become a viable, competitive operation for several years to come. In any such plan, state and federal support are serious factors that can alter the best of plans. Recognizing the situation demanded a leader, a promoter and a visionary, the board had to make some tough decisions. And the best was when they hired Peter.

And now it’s time to move on.

Peter and I never had a conventional “ meeting” but we discussed and questioned ourselves frequently in the hallways, town meeting, and on a bike at the Wellness Center. I always felt we were on the same page most of the time and simply bounced conflicting ideas at each other.

We are losing a good manager, a good thinker and a good friend. He will be hard to replace.